Labour Day: Toowoomba union members back Indigenous Voice to Parliament campaign

On the eve of the city’s biggest celebration of the labour movement, union members have thrown their support behind constitutional recognition for indigenous Australians.

Donna Poole works hard with young indigenous Australians to make sure they have a better life and stay connected to their culture — and she believes a Voice to Parliament would do the same.

The Wakka Wakka woman, community education counsellor at Highfields State Secondary College and proud union member has praised the labour movement for supporting the “Yes” vote in the upcoming Indigenous Voice referendum.

Toowoomba representatives of the Queensland Council of Unions, who will walk with 350 workers through the CBD as part of the annual Labour Day March on Saturday, have thrown support behind the push to enshrine constitutional recognition for indigenous Australians.

Wakka Wakka women Donna Poole will give the Welcome to Country at the Toowoomba Labour Day events, Friday, April 28, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Ms Poole, who will make the acknowledgement of country before the march at 10.30am, said the “once in a generation” vote was broadly supported.

“It will improve the lives and outcomes of indigenous people — it’s a step forward in bringing indigenous and non-indigenous people together, and it will help (us) have a say in our lives,” she said.

“I help First Nations students in the school to succeed in their school work (and) culture is so necessary for those young people to know their mob, where they come from.

“It will also help social, economic and spiritual wellbeing, keeping that culture that we’ve lost in the past decades and centuries.”

A member of the Together Union for eight years, Ms Poole said she was thrilled to see the QCU and the Australian Council of Trade Unions vocally support the campaign.

“I had gone to a couple of union meetings and I could see a lot of teacher aides were there, and they encouraged me to join,” she said.

“It’s fantastic, we need our non-indigenous allies to work with us for a voice in parliament, so I think it’s great so many people are getting involved.”

QCU committee member and Toowoomba and southwest state organiser for the Electrical Trades Union Damian Hewat said the values of the Voice campaign were shared with the labour movement.

“The union movement is built on social justice issues and this is a massive social justice issue, not just for myself and my union but all others — the ACTU has campaigned heavily to support indigenous Australians,” he said.

“It gives them a chance to be part of the discussion, they currently don’t have to be consulted with — every time they get that chance, it’s stripped away later.

“They need to be part of the decision-making, which is a big part of unions, we preach it every day at every meeting.

“Our workers need to be consulted with and indigenous people are no different.”

The Labour Day March will start from roughly 10.30am outside City Hall, finishing behind the Toowoomba City Library in Mothercraft Lane.

Originally published as Labour Day: Toowoomba union members back Indigenous Voice to Parliament campaign